Can the Taj Mahal Be Saved? New Measures To Preserve India's Wonder

The Taj Mahal remains the most convincing argument that Agra, the northern Indian city where the marble mausoleum stands, was once something like a paradise.

Gazing at Shah Jahan's show-stopping tribute to his deceased wife, you can believe—even amid the hordes of tourists—that Agra was renowned for its elegance and beauty during the city's Mughal Empire heyday, when longboats floated down the Yamuna River between quadrilateral gardens fragrant with jasmine and oleander.

The Mughals moved to Delhi in 1648, though, and, in the intervening centuries, Agra got industrialized, crowded, and polluted.

advertisement

Paradise lost?

Not entirely. Recent efforts have been undertaken to preserve the city's marquee wonder and restore other sites that have been damaged or neglected.

Saving the Taj

Last summer, India's Supreme Court ordered the government to do more to protect the Taj Mahal's surface from bug poo, industrial pollution, and other factors causing the marble to turn from ivory to yellow.As Smithsonian magazine points out, the plan to scrub away the grime on the monument also calls for measures to clean up the river.

advertisement

Preservationists, meanwhile, have been worried about the impact that up to 70,000 visitors a day could be having on floors and foundations.

To address those concerns, the number of tourists allowed in each day is now capped at 40,000, and, more controversially, the price of admission for Indian citizens, who make up the majority of visitors, was hiked up in December by a whopping 400%, from 50 rupees to 250 rupees.

Though the new price is equivalent to only about US$3.50, that's an exorbitant sum for many Indians—and apparently that's the point.

advertisement

"We want people to pay more to limit the footfall,” a government spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. “This will cut down the number of visitors to the mausoleum by at least 15-20% and generate revenue for its conservation."

So the plan is to save this Indian icon by keeping Indians out. Wouldn't it be fairer to further lower the admission cap for all guests—Indian and not—to at least spread the disappointment around a little?

Taj Mahal admission for foreigners, by the way, is 1,300 rupees (US$19).